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THE ferrothorn for ubers imo. Power Whip hits groudon and ogre hard, 2HKOing the latter while doing decent damage to the former. Leech Seed is to make Ferrothorn even more annoying as well as supplying it a good source of recovery. spikes is standard, and protect is to scout genesects

So you think Magnezone or Heatran is a call to switch into Ferrothorn and roast it with a blazing move? How about, no. This move is intended to lure out its usual counters, such as Magnezone and Heatran, and hit it with a super effective Bulldoze. With just a layer of Stealth Rock, it KOs most commonly-ran Magnezone. Many non-balloon Heatran is easily defeated by Bulldoze. You can always look at Smogon to see the destructive force of Banded Ferro, 2HKOing Hippowdon. Anyways, Power Whip and Gyro Ball is Ferro's STAB moves, and can be abused to put dents into other people's team. Forced out by a fire type who had revealed your set? Fear not. Ferrothorn comes with a self-destruction button that at least puts a dent on something or even a kill. Spikes can be ran for your hazard business since once your set is removed, I doubt anyone would taunt you. So can Stealth Rock, but Spikes is a better move to be locked on.

Oh goodie. While everyone else love to use thing thing, I HATE THIS DURIAN (a smelly Jack fruit) STEEL FRUIT!!! Of all the walls that currently exists, this thing is the king of tanking hits, only Lugia outranking it in many ways. Yet this thing gives me such high respect as this one pokemon becomes the one knight that stood against the devilish rain team assault up until today. Those Rainy days in early black and white metagame are very dark times.

Personally, I ain't goin for the set since I'm sick of seeing that set owning me so many motherF*CKING TIMES!!! Too common right now with justified reasons.

But the unique thing about this thing is that it has Iron Barbs, which acts like its own version of Rough skin that could actually compensate with its fighting weakness. You see, what makes thing just almost unbreakable? If it is under rain [whether its on a sun team or not], the rain reduces its Massive weakness to Fire. Iron barbs threaten to weaken physical attackers that uses close combat against it (that includes all time famous Choice Band Terrakion) while it saps their health away with leech seed. And out of all the defensive pokemon you can use, you can benefit the 252 HP / and 126 Defense and Sp. defense spread. It doesn't care about speed loss too. But that is even more infuriating is that this thing has thunder wave that cripples any fast sweeper.

Counters: If this thing is the tank of Rain teams, Heatran is the tank of Sun teams as Heatran can easily cook this thing. Taunt can also work to avoid Leech seed and the other hazards that it could do(just watch out for Gyro Ball that is). Trick users like Celebi and Jirachi also work as they can get rid of its leftovers and give it either a Choice Scarf, or A Flame orb.

About time we did Ferrothorn.
I want to comment on the aesthetics first. Ferrothorn looks funny. Comment made.
Ferrothorn is a defensive titan. Its high bulk and excellent defensive typing make it an excellent wall. Ferrothorn also has a respectable attack stat to use as well, plus some nifty offensive moves like Power Whip and Gyro Ball. While a base 20 speed seems awful, this is actually a huge boon for Ferrothorn thanks to Trick Room and STAB Gyro Ball. In addition, Ferrothron has a wide array of support options, which include Leech Seed, Thunder Wave, and Stealth Rock.
Despite a heavy weakness to fire and a weakness to the ever populous fighting, Ferrothorn is a major presence.

These kinds of sets are usually not my cup of honey-sweetened tea, but this one is very dangerous. Spikes is the better option, but Stealth Rock can be just as awesome. For status, Thunder Wave is the superior option because it cripples offensive threats, but Toxic can shorten any stall wars. Leech Seed provides a means to shorten the stall war while adding to Leftovers recovery. However, Stealth Rock can be used here instead, as can Gyro Ball. Speaking of which, Power Whip and Gyro Ball are your STAB moves in case you get hit by Taunt, or have nothing else to do. Remember, don't use Thunder Wave with Gyro Ball.

This isn't a standard Ferrothorn setup, but I'm a fan of defensive titans that can be used offensively. Unfortunately, Gastrodon is better at this job. What would make Ferrothorn better at this is if this thing got Synthesis or something. But it didn't. Curse is the boosting move of choice with Gyro Ball being your go-to STAB move. Leech Seed can keep Ferrothorn going longer and Power Whip is an alternative STAB option. either of these moves can be dropped for Explosion, but that isn't usually the better way to go. If you want to treat Ferrothorn like C4, better replace Leech Seed.

Cactus Flail
Nature: Adamant/Brave
EVs: same as above
@: Choice Band

Gyro Ball
Power Whip
Bulldoze
Explosion

This set is seen from time to time, but I don't like it. Ferrothorn's defensive potential is not being used to the maximum with a set like this. But, like I always say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Other options:
Gravity is one of the big ones. Not only does it help with Power Whip's less-than-perfect accuracy, it can be a huge boon for your team as well.
Knock Off is another great move Ferrothorn can make great use of.
Worry Seed can be a ton of fun as well.
Ingrain might seem like a good idea, but Leech Seed is better.
Swords Dance might seem like a good idea as well. However, Ferrothorn isn't designed for sweeping. Curse is a better boosting move for the cactus ball.

Countering:
Fire. Have a lot of fire. You should anyway. Having something on your team with at least Flamethrower will go a long way. Try to avoid Iron Barbs by using Special Attacks if you can.

The quintessential water counter, Ferrothorn is arguably one of the most influential pokemon of this generation.

Pros: THAT typing. Ferrothorn’s grass-steel typing is phenomenal, resisting 10 different types in exchange for two weaknesses. That combined with phenomenal 74/131/116 defenses and few pokemon can outright muscle through it, even with neutral attacks. Its ability, while not the greatest, is an incredible boon for such a bulky pokemon, having any direct contact move draining 1/8 of their health on contact (~29% if combined with Rocky Helmet). Finally, Ferrothorn’s moveset makes it an incredible threat, buffing up both its respectable physical attack and insane physical defense to new heights, while at the same time possessing potent physical attacks in Power Whip, Gyro Ball and Payback. In addition, it possesses Spikes, Stealth Rock, Leech Seed, Thunder Wave, Gravity and Toxic, rounding its moveset with diverse support options.

Cons: Ferrothorn is as incredibly slow as it is defensive, being outsped by the likes of Reuniclus, Slowbro, Lileep and Gigalith. While this makes Ferrothern one of the blistering fastest pokemon in Trick Room, in every other instance, Ferrothorn is going last. In addition, while its typing is very good, its Achilles heel is a glaring 4x Fire weakness, quickly incinerating it. Burns do Ferrothorn no favors either, sabotaging both its bulk and sole attacking stat. Finally, Ferrothorn is very vulnerable to repeated damage, having no recovery means of recovery outside of Leech Seed and Leftovers.

The Verdict: Hide the Water types. Ferrothorn’s presence alone is one of the main reasons why the bulky water types of the last two generations have fallen down to UU; they can’t hope to even KO it while Ferrothorn can leisurely use them to setup and/or annihilate them. The ideal tank in all of its spikey glory.

I was once routed by a Gengar who critted 4 times in a row on my team. Morale of the story; Crits happen and Sucker Punch is good Gengar repellent.

This metal plant was game-changing to say the least. Excellent defenses coupled with that Grass/Steel typing make it the ideal wall for the many water- and dragon-types in the tier, forcing previously OU Pokemon into UU, including Swampert, Kingdra, and Suicune. Its movepool doesn't lack options either; Power Whip, Thunder Wave, Leech Seed, Spikes, and Stealth Rock make for good utility. Iron Barbs allows it to beat annoying focus sash leads. Ferrothorn even has a good attack stat for a defensively-inclined Pokemon, which when combined with its high-powered Power Whip ensures it is not easily set up on.

Like all Pokemon, it does have its problems. The most glaring issue is its weakness to common attacking types, namely Fighting- and Fire-type moves. Being the absolute slowest Pokemon in the OU tier can also be a problem in such an offensive game. Finally, it has no instant recovery other than Rest, making it somewhat overly-dependent on Leftovers and Leech Seed. Using its amazing defensive capability though will rarely disappoint.

This is the set I use most often. Power Whip is a standard on Ferrothorn sets, as it allows it to directly damage rain teams. I consider Leech Seed to be almost mandatory, as Ferrothorn needs all the recovery it can get. In the third slot, either Spikes or Stealth Rock will do, but I usually prefer Spikes since there are better Stealth Rock users in OU. Thunder Wave is used in the last slot to cripple common switch-ins like Volcarona, Drangonite, and Heatran. Again, Stealth Rock could be used, this time forming a dual hazards set with spikes. Finally, Gyro Ball can be used to hit the Latis twins, Kyurem-B, Gengar, and Celebi, but it has little use outside of those.

Despite certain Water Types becoming horribly nerfed by 'thorn's presence, a few notables stand out among Water Types for their anti-Ferrothorn capabilities:
-Slowbro - Physical bulk, recovery, better non-Trick Room Speed, and access to Focus Blast, Flamethrower, and Fire Blast. What's not to like?
-Slowking - Less bulky in the Physical department, but the same gist as its cousin.
-Octillery - Less bulk overall, but still capable of putting serious hurt on 'thorn.
-Blastoise - Overall bulky and a solid hit from Focus Blast can make anything weak to Fighting think twice.
-Ludicolo - Access to Focus Blast and immune to Leech Seed. Not bulky enough to take repeated hits, mind you, but it can really stop Ferrothorn from building its HP back up.
-Azumarill - Sap Sipper allows you to ignore 'thorn's Grass STAB entirely, plus Focus Blast and Soak + Grass Knot (Base 100 Power VS Ferrothorn) access.
-Golduck - Has access to both Focus Blast and Soak. Because of Soak, we can also add...
-Anything with Soak access - A lesser used nightmare Move for Ferrothorn, making it weak to Electric and Grass and negating its STAB.

Despite the capability of fighting a few rounds with Ferrothorn, few of those have the capacity to KO it.

Countering-OU
High Sp attack and Defense with Fire/Fighting-type moves like Chandelure, Hydreigon, Togekiss, or Charizard.

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Countering-OU
High Sp attack and Defense with Fire/Fighting-type moves like Chandelure, Hydreigon, Togekiss, or Charizard.

It should be noted that most offensive counters such as these have to be wary of Ferrothorn carrying Thunder Wave, as eating one on the switch can cripple them for the rest of the match.

To that end...

Xatu and Espeon are nigh perfect counters to support variants of Ferrothorn, as Magic Bounce will reflect Spikes, Stealth Rock, Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Leech Seed (although the bounced Toxic and Leech Seed won't affect Ferro) right back in Ferrothorn's face. In addition, they can scare Ferrothorn out with Heat Wave and Hidden Power Fire, respectively. Unfortunately neither is physically bulky and they both have decent speed, so Gyro Ball can take a huge chunk out of them. Xatu does resist Power Whip however, so it can fare decently well against Ferrothorns lacking Gyro Ball. They can also utilize the time to set up screens with nigh impunity.

As long as you keep them away from Ferro's Gyro Balls, they can usually keep Ferrothorn from supporting its teammates.

SMod, One of the writers for the PotW, and someone you'll be hearing from often if you fail to read the rules

Everyone loves Ferrothorn and I see him everywhere.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet/Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Sassy (+SDef, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Curse
This set has worked wonders for me. After a curse I have been able to withstand a DD'd Dragonite's Fire Punch. Leech Seed provides enough recovery to not use Leftovers, allowing the Rocky Helmet to punish physical attackers even more, although Leftovers are still a good item to be used on this set.

I'm sure that by now all the viable sets i could come up with have been posted, so I'll just list some counters (that may have also been posted as well)

As everyone knows, Ferrothorn hates Fire types. A 4x weakness and no way to hurt them before they kill it, save for the rare Bulldoze. Even then, Fire-type coverage moves on other Pokemon can decimate it. Heatran, Infernape, pretty much any fire-type that can switch in unharmed is capable of doing serious, if not fatal, damage to the metal plant. Be careful, though, as Ferrothorn users will often have something to tank the Fire moves that Ferrothorn hates so much. Ferrothorn also loves rain, which significantly reduces the severity of the weakness.

Ferrothorn's biggest disadvantage compared to its similarly-named rival Forretress (save for Rapid Spin) is that it is weak to Fighting type moves, leaving it open to significant dents from various Fighting-type Pokemon and coverage moves. Breloom gets a special mention for being immune to Leech Seed and caring little about Thunder Wave, while its typing and low speed cause it to easily shrug off Ferro's main attacks. SubPunch Conkeldurr can block status and Leech Seed and easily tanks out Ferrothorn's attacks with its natural bulk; alternatively, Bulk Up/Guts variants can restore back any lost health with Drain Punch as they do huge damage to Ferrothorn. Beware of protect stalling on Flame Orb variants, especially if it gets a Leech Seed off. The passive damage stacks really quickly and can easily leave you crippled. Also, many Fighting-types should fear a switch into Jellicent, a popular companion to Ferrothorn.

Reuniclus gets some extra attention because it ignores Leech Seed and Toxic with Magic Guard, and couldn't care less about being paralyzed. Reuniclus's pathetic speed allows it to take Gyro Balls with ease, and Power Whips will barely do 30% to 252/0 Reuniclus. Recover is an important move when using Reuniclus, as otherwise it will be left dented or killed by repeated attacks if it fails to OHKO at the right time. After setting up if it so chooses, Reuniclus can proceed to do huge damage with Focus Blast. The infamous Magnezone is perhaps Ferrothorn's worst nightmare. After switching in, it traps Ferrothorn with Magnet Pull and can either set up with Charge Beam or lay waste right away with HP Fire.

Life is a funny thing. I have something of a love-hate relationship with it.

Run for the Hills

Curse, Leech Seed and or Sub, Curse, Curse, Curse, then Gyro Ball everything to death. Use Sub to avoid sp attackers, let physical attackers hurt themselves. Leech Seed if you can, the more HP back the better. The pattern is pretty easy. By the time a sub wears out, all the lost HP should be back.

Ferrothorn's greatest assets are also its weak link on offense. Gyro Ball only has 5 PP and Power Whip only has 10. This means anything able to trap and stall it can wear out its offense, leaving behind little in the way of actual damage and a lot in the way of Taunt. Bulldoze and Explosion should always be a consideration, but beware of the consequences.

Eviolite-clops, Pressure-tomb, and Dusknoir are bulky and slow enough to outlast Gyro Ball and most Power Whips. Tack on Pain Split and a plethora of other nasties and 'thorn will need to tread lightly.